The Order of the Stick: T-Rex, Troll Sex and Will Checks

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Dolash: Oct 23, 2008; aNYWAY,
tHAT'S REALLY ALL THERE IS,
tO REPORT ON THE SUBJECT,
oF ME GETTING HURT,

CapnAndy posted:

Yeah, the smart thing to do would have obviously been to just tell Durkon the prophecy and then make him swear an oath to never leave for any reasons. He'd gladly stand in an earthquake or whatever and die if he'd been ordered to and understood why.

Look, the thing about self-fulfilling prophecies is you can't avoid them - your avoidance is only going to ensure they come true in an uncontrolled way.

What people should actually do but never do for some reason is intentionally make it come true in a contrived and controlled manner. Tell the Dwarven population of this prophecy and intentionally set up a ceremony where Durkon goes home then steps outside and all Dwarves are ordered to speak in rhyme for a day, or wear pink, or try to get around with a blindfold on. Have him learn how to play an instrument and start a band then go home and start a music sensation that sweeps the nation, just reinterpret what upheaval entails.

This is generally true of future-prophecy. If you ever see yourself stabbing your best friend in a vision of the future, don't try and avoid your friend, get your friend and carefully stage the exact scene you saw. Do it several times just to be sure you did the one that you saw in your vision. It seems so obvious but everyone stomps on the self-fulfilling rake like it's something new and not as old as the Ancient Greeks.

# ? Jan 22, 2013 04:47

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# ? May 22, 2024 19:16

Cabbit: Jul 19, 2001; _{Is that everything you have?}

If everyone acted completely rationally, stories would be a lot less interesting.

# ? Jan 22, 2013 05:36

SirDan3k: Jan 6, 2001; Trust me, you are taking this a lot more seriously then I am.

And wholly unrealistic.

# ? Jan 22, 2013 05:40

Jimbone Tallshanks: Dec 16, 2005; You can't pull rank on murder.

Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth posted:

Don't do anything that affects anything. Unless it turns out you were supposed to do it, in which case for the love of God, don't not do it!

# ? Jan 22, 2013 06:29

NihilCredo: Jun 6, 2011; iram omni possibili modo preme:
plus una illa te diffamabit, quam multæ virtutes commendabunt

Dolash posted:

What people should actually do but never do for some reason is

I like how you're applying rational thinking to a concept that breaks causality itself.

# ? Jan 22, 2013 14:01

Umbra Dubium: Nov 23, 2007; The British Empire was built on cups of tea, and if you think I'm going into battle without one, you're sorely mistaken!

Dolash posted:

This is generally true of future-prophecy. If you ever see yourself stabbing your best friend in a vision of the future, don't try and avoid your friend, get your friend and carefully stage the exact scene you saw. Do it several times just to be sure you did the one that you saw in your vision.

Yes, and you'll always accidentally pick up the real knife that they've left lying around instead of the stage one.

This is how prophecy works.

# ? Jan 22, 2013 14:07

Tevruden: Aug 12, 2004

Umbra Dubium posted:

Yes, and you'll always accidentally pick up the real knife that they've left lying around instead of the stage one.

This is how prophecy works.

Obviously that just means you should have trained medical professionals on hand. (Slightly off camera, of course.)

# ? Jan 22, 2013 15:12

Dolash: Oct 23, 2008; aNYWAY,
tHAT'S REALLY ALL THERE IS,
tO REPORT ON THE SUBJECT,
oF ME GETTING HURT,

NihilCredo posted:

I like how you're applying rational thinking to a concept that breaks causality itself.

Just about every self-fulfilling prophecy story is about someone hearing the prophecy and trying to be rational about avoiding it. Might as well do it right, or at least fail in a slightly more original manner. If you're lucky, you can get away with fulfilling it in the least-terrible interpretation possible.

# ? Jan 22, 2013 17:49

Green Crayons: Apr 2, 2009

Or just stab your best friend with the knife because he goddamn deserves it.

# ? Jan 22, 2013 17:51

Phanatic: Mar 13, 2007; Please don't forget that I am an extremely racist idiot who also has terrible opinions about the Culture series.

Jimbone Tallshanks posted:

Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth posted:

Don't do anything that affects anything. Unless it turns out you were supposed to do it, in which case for the love of God, don't not do it!

What if you fight destiny by not fighting it?

http://oglaf.com/sooth/1/

Site is very NSFW, this particular comic's probably okay though.

# ? Jan 22, 2013 18:11

Alliterate Addict: Jul 10, 2012; dreaming of that face again

it's bright and blue and shimmering

grinning wide and comforting me with it's three warm and wild eyes

So Rusty & Co is back online again, apparently.

# ? Jan 27, 2013 04:29

CapnAndy: Feb 27, 2004; Some teeth long for ripping, gleaming wet from black dog gums. So you keep your eyes closed at the end. You don't want to see such a mouth up close. before the bite, before its oblivion in the goring of your soft parts, the speckled lips will curl back in a whinny of excitement. You just know it.

Ursine Asylum posted:

So Rusty & Co is back online again, apparently.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

# ? Jan 27, 2013 07:19

DrakePegasus: Jan 30, 2009; It was Plundersaurus Rex's dream to be the greatest pirate dragon ever.

Ursine Asylum posted:

So Rusty & Co is back online again, apparently.

This is the best thing to wake up to besides OOTS.

# ? Jan 27, 2013 16:52

Calaveron: Aug 7, 2006

Ursine Asylum posted:

So Rusty & Co is back online again, apparently.

Oh gosh, why didn't I discover this comic sooner?

# ? Jan 27, 2013 18:04

Pope Guilty: Nov 6, 2006; The human animal is a beautiful and terrible creature, capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty.

As of today, this thread is six years old! It looks like the most recent strip at the time was Miko's little mistake. Interesting that everybody thought she'd become a blackguard or something, instead of, well, ignominiously dying.

# ? Jan 28, 2013 12:40

Colonel Cool: Dec 24, 2006

#867: The First Title Also Still Applies :siren:

# ? Jan 30, 2013 19:45

sebmojo: Oct 23, 2010; Legit Cyberpunk

I was just thinking it had an early strip quality, then I read the title again.

Edit: I think Belkar's number is up.

sebmojo fucked around with this message at 21:23 on Jan 30, 2013

# ? Jan 30, 2013 21:09

Nenonen: Oct 22, 2009; Mulla on aina kolkyt donaa taskussa

sebmojo posted:

Edit: I think Belkar's number is up.

You can't avoid that feeling :ohdear:

But maybe he'll end up finding V.

# ? Jan 30, 2013 21:34

jng2058: Jul 17, 2010; We have the tools, we have the talent!

I'm wondering if he'll run into Xykon and company just 'porting in. You know, just at the same time that Roy gets the warning from Hinjo about that very thing.

# ? Jan 30, 2013 22:06

MechanicalTomPetty: Oct 30, 2011; Runnin' down a dream
That never would come to me

Pope Guilty posted:

As of today, this thread is six years old! It looks like the most recent strip at the time was Miko's little mistake. Interesting that everybody thought she'd become a blackguard or something, instead of, well, ignominiously dying.

Six years and the OP literally hasn't been updated since. Maybe it's time for a new thread, even Achewood got a new one between then and now and it barely even updates anymore.

And hey, new comic! At this point I think Rich is just playing with expectations and putting Belkar in dangerous situations just to psych us out when/if his time really comes.

# ? Jan 31, 2013 00:04

sebmojo: Oct 23, 2010; Legit Cyberpunk

MechanicalTomPetty posted:

And hey, new comic! At this point I think Rich is just playing with expectations and putting Belkar in dangerous situations just to psych us out when/if his time really comes.

He totally is. Remember the 'you and me... right to the end' speech he gave about thirty strips back.

# ? Jan 31, 2013 02:39

DrakePegasus: Jan 30, 2009; It was Plundersaurus Rex's dream to be the greatest pirate dragon ever.

MechanicalTomPetty posted:

Maybe it's time for a new thread, even Achewood got a new one between then and now and it barely even updates anymore.

I've brought this up a few times, but I think we should wait until the end of the arc. Admittedly, I say this because I think my thread title idea, "Order of the Stick Thread 2: Gates? What Gates?" will work better when we inevitably have just one left.

# ? Jan 31, 2013 03:25

My Lovely Horse: Aug 21, 2010

Even beyond all the "but maybe that's what he wants us to think" Belkar's prophecy inevitably brings with it in such a fiction-aware strip as OotS, I really don't believe a dramatic foretelling like this will be resolved by a random trap.

# ? Jan 31, 2013 07:56

girl dick energy: Sep 30, 2009; You think you have the wherewithal to figure out my puzzle vagina?

My Lovely Horse posted:

Even beyond all the "but maybe that's what he wants us to think" Belkar's prophecy inevitably brings with it in such a fiction-aware strip as OotS, I really don't believe a dramatic foretelling like this will be resolved by a random trap.

Agreed.

This is Rich Burlew, not Brian Clevinger.

# ? Jan 31, 2013 14:52

My Lovely Horse: Aug 21, 2010

Actually that could stand a point of elaboration: it might end up being a random trap, but not one that the gang walk up to under no immediate pressure and go, hmm, a trap and a good one at that, let's disarm that and carry on.

# ? Jan 31, 2013 16:41

Kaebora: Jul 12, 2006; Be careful of forgetfulness. Your lucky color is...blue?

One thing I may be missing - in Don't Split the Party, in a flashback in one of the bonus comics, we are told that Azure City's psychic saw Belkar save Hinjo's life twice. The first was obviously during the battle, but have we seen the second life-saving attempt yet?

Perhaps Hinjo will be teleported to the room before/as the three-or-four-way battle between the Order, the Guild, Xykon (and perhaps a controlled V) gets going, and Belkar jumps in front of a Disintegrate meant for Hinjo?

# ? Jan 31, 2013 17:50

jng2058: Jul 17, 2010; We have the tools, we have the talent!

Kaebora posted:

One thing I may be missing - in Don't Split the Party, in a flashback in one of the bonus comics, we are told that Azure City's psychic saw Belkar save Hinjo's life twice. The first was obviously during the battle, but have we seen the second life-saving attempt yet?

Perhaps Hinjo will be teleported to the room before/as the three-or-four-way battle between the Order, the Guild, Xykon (and perhaps a controlled V) gets going, and Belkar jumps in front of a Disintegrate meant for Hinjo?

You know what? You're right. I went back and looked, since I thought maybe Belkar had helped out when Miko went nuts in the throne room, but no, that was Hinjo saving Belkar, not Belkar saving Hinjo. So yeah, Belkar ain't dying until he's saved Hinjo again. And while maybe he can get a ride from the elves, I suspect that Hinjo probably doesn't have teleport capability right now so we probably won't see him on site until Kraagor's Gate.

Therefore, Belkar's getting outta this one alive, I suspect.

# ? Jan 31, 2013 19:19

Alliterate Addict: Jul 10, 2012; dreaming of that face again

it's bright and blue and shimmering

grinning wide and comforting me with it's three warm and wild eyes

jng2058 posted:

Therefore, Belkar's getting outta this one alive, I suspect.

I for one look forward to seeing Tarquin in a Hinjo disguise for whatever reason. Or possibly Elan loving around with illusions and putting on a full-sized puppet show while ignorant of some threat directly behind him.

# ? Jan 31, 2013 19:28

S.D.: Apr 28, 2008

Wait, do we count Beklar fireballing a bunch of archers about to rain arrows on everyone (including Hinjo) as saving his life or not?

# ? Feb 1, 2013 03:56

jng2058: Jul 17, 2010; We have the tools, we have the talent!

S.D. posted:

Wait, do we count Beklar fireballing a bunch of archers about to rain arrows on everyone (including Hinjo) as saving his life or not?

Personally, I doubt it, since that only delayed the arrow barrage by a round or two, and Hinjo was able to survive it to get to the tower alright. Heck, the yet-to-be-named Kazumi and Daigo made it through the arrows, and they were like first level at the time. I suppose it could count if Rich wanted it to, but I'm inclined to think it didn't.

# ? Feb 1, 2013 06:12

SuperKlaus: Oct 20, 2005; Fun Shoe

The first panel really confused me until I realized they were saying "that can't be the Gate door, it is too obvious." See, I thought they were saying "that is clearly the Gate door, let us go somewhere else first to maximize loot and XP before resolving the adventure." I mean c'mon that's basic adventurer logic where I come from. Yes I know that's un-dramatic behavior, I'm half-joking.

What use is an OP in a thread thousands upon thousands of posts long - and, let's face it, largely filled with white noise - anyway?

# ? Feb 1, 2013 18:05